Would you like a hug?
by innominado
Summary: A seemingly inconspicuous action gives Holo the perfect opportunity to tease Lawrence. Being who she is, Holo couldn't let such opportunity go to waste.
**Would you like a hug?**

Lawrence and Holo were in the church of Tereo.

The former priest of that church, Father Franz, had been an avid collector of northern folklore who painstakingly compiled the legends of many pagan gods. For Holo, who was a pagan goddess herself and who was in need for answers, the books in which Father Franz poured his knowledge had been a great help. Thanks to one of those books Holo learnt about the sad fate of her homeland (from which she departed centuries ago) and about her old friends (who apparently managed to escape). Holo was searching for those friends even now, and she believed that a clue of their whereabouts could be hidden in another of Father Franz's books.

Lawrence and Holo had found Father Franz' books some days earlier, but at that time circumstances conspired against them and they had to flee from Tereo, leaving most of the books unread. That was however in the past, and now that time was less of a concern, Holo wished to study Father Franz' library as thoroughly as possible.

Lawrence of course agreed to help, but after several hours of uninterrupted reading he had to take break. Sitting on the cold stone floor of the church for hours contributed in no small manner to his decision to rest. Holo, who was no doubt also weakened by fatigue and the cold, said nothing when she heard Lawrence walk away and remained focused on her reading. Her motivation to find answers in those books was after all much greater than Lawrence's.

Through a nearby window, Lawrence observed an interesting scene; the usually stoic priestess Elsa was embracing Evan the miller, who in turn hugged her back. Lawrence smiled, remembering that after the recent events these two no longer had any need to hide their relationship. Still, seeing them happily embracing each other made him sigh. It was an almost inaudible sigh, but as soon as it came off Lawrence realized his mistake.

"Oh, what is this that I am sensing? Is it perhaps jealousy?"

Lawrence said nothing. After all, he had brought Holo's teasing upon himself.

"Mmm…not quite; I would say 'tis a concoction of jealousy and embarrassment. Quite a childish recipe if you ask me".

Lawrence remained silent. In his experience, any attempts to refute Holo's words would only serve as fuel for her teasing. However, if he managed to remain stoic despite her jabs, Holo would find the game boring and should quickly relent.

Yet, this time the self-proclaimed Wise Wolf had other plans; annoyed as she was after hours of unfruitful reading, she welcomed the opportunity to get Lawrence flustered with open arms.

"Look, if you want me to hug you, this can be arranged you know?"

Holo stood up and playfully walked towards Lawrence, whose façade of stoicism was quickly crumbling.

Lawrence was at a loss. Holo had a frightening ability to discern human emotions, he knew that much. However, her shameless proposal was too exact to be based merely on the sound of his sigh. Even assuming that Holo's ears somehow perceived his jealousy, how could Holo have known the precise reason behind it? That would have required seeing what he saw, which was in itself impossible because she had been reading a book, a fair distance away from himself and the window.

"Why so distressed?"

Lawrence didn't know how to respond, not yet. Then he noticed something, something he had seen countless times in the past: Holo's ears pricked up under her cap, probably catching on some distant conversation. Then the realization struck him; his sigh hadn't told Holo how he was feeling, but it did tell her that something was amiss. Curious about the reason, Holo probably decided to pay attention to any human activity directly in front of Lawrence. And with her keen hearing and wits, it must have been child's play to single out Elsa and Evan's romantic demeanor as the source of Lawrence's unusual behavior.

Lawrence smiled, proud to have seen through Holo's subterfuge.

"Oh, you figured it out?"

Holo was already within arm's reach of Lawrence.

"As an additional reward for your efforts, do you want me to say the same embarrassing things that the priestess was saying to the lad? I figure you may like them".

And without waiting for his answer, Holo hugged Lawrence. If Lawrence was planning a retort, the sudden contact with Holo's skin made its elaboration impossible. Such was the extent of her charm.

Lawrence's instincts took over and decided that Lawrence's current situation would be even more enjoyable if he were to embrace Holo as well. He did it, but using far more strength than required.

When Lawrence realized how pathetically desperate he must have looked, he froze for a second, and then lowered his sight very slowly, searching for Holo's eyes. He genuinely believed that she would be angry at his sloppy advances. As usual when it came to Holo, he was wrong.

Holo, now with her left cheek pressed against Lawrence's torso, looked at Lawrence from below, her eyes the very picture of defenseless and her lips slightly open in surprise. Holo spoke, but not before averting her gaze.

"It...it is fine if you want to hug me too. But please, re– remember to be gentle".

Lawrence swallowed. The little it was left of his rational self vehemently protested at the obvious farce that was taking place before his very eyes. Yet, Lawrence did not listen. Or rather, he could not listen. Mesmerized, he observed every detail of Holo's troubled expression, committing all his attention to carve it into his memory.

At some point, Holo's lips curved into a smile. Although Holo was a wolf, that was the smile of a fox, a fox that had just accomplished some especially crafty mischief and was basking on the results.

As if the charm that controlled him was broken by that smile, Lawrence broke away from Holo and looked at her with as much dignity as his embarrassment allowed him, that is to say, none at all.

"Did you enjoy my little performance?"

Holo's tone of voice was cheerful.

Lawrence decided to go with the truth.

"It was devilishly effective. Had you made any request, I doubt I would have been able to refuse it, no matter how unreasonable".

"Such an honest boy, I love that about you".

Lawrence didn't appreciate being called a boy, no matter how many centuries older Holo was supposed to be. He tried to hide his displeasure but couldn't.

"But you know what I like about you even more?"

A sly smile appeared once again on Holo's face.

Lawrence sighed, fully aware of the answer that was about to come.

"How easy you are to tease".

Lawrence lowered his head in resignation. He was no match against the Wise Wolf.


End file.
